New baby hippo born around September 18th, mother is Relief and father Kuchek. It could quite possibly be a male as it is a large calf but we will have to be patient and wait to find out. You now have the chance to name this baby. I would suggest if you enter this draw that you give a female and a male name and then if you win we will have both names and once sex is known we can use your chosen name. Every dollar donated to name the baby helps these...

Old lady Abe and the bull Tembia, behind her feeding during the 2016 drought. Abe would never have survived without the help of all of the hippos supporters. She and all 19 hippos and 200 other wild animals thank you for having been there for them and wish you all the best of 2017. Love Karen and the Turgwe Hippos

Karen Paolillo and the Turgwe Hippo Trust centre page spread in Intrepid Explorer magazine.(SA) Written by Rachel Arnold. Here is the article they wrote and you can also download the pdf file using the link at the bottom of the page. Enjoy reading. The full post in pdf format is available...

The Turgwe Hippo Trust is not just about the hippos. The Trust has many other wild animals living around us such as elephants, lions, hyenas and many antelopes and smaller mammals. Squiggle was found by myself and Jean-Roger lying under a tree with her umbilical chord still attached, she was about one week to ten days of age. One of her eyes was still closed. We brought her home as she had not a chance of survival but I did leave a trail camera there to...

Kiboko grooming a crocodile. I have seen this behaviour on a regular basis and believe the hippos groom the crocodiles for a couple of reasons. The area they choose to groom is normally the tail or along the ridge on the top of the croc’s body. In those areas quite a lot of hippo dung can accumulate when the croc is swimming in the river or even when on land and the hippos defecate. They often cover the crocs in dung. So a hippo will smell the...

Cheeky and her two month old calf. Hippo mothers, like any mum, are very protective of their babies. When a calf is about five to six weeks of age the first hippo allowed contact with the new baby is the bull. Often the bull is the father, but not always. The next hippos that are allowed to approach the baby are other small hippos up to about three and a half years of age. If the calf is a male the mother will not normally allow any other female contact...

Who I Am

Hi, my name is Karen Paolillo, Founder of the Turgwe Hippo Trust here in Zimbabwe.

As a little girl growing up in the UK, I told my Mum that one day I would live and work with wild animals in Africa. At that time I was horse mad and anything pony or horse caught my attention and fueled my passion.

What I Do

The Turgwe Hippo Trust is about saving the lives of families of hippos whose very existence would have ended way back in 1992, and helping those hippos to breed, have calves and live the lives they were born to lead as wild African animals.
How do human beings help such magnificent, wild and supposedly dangerous animals?

Help the Trust

You can help the Trust to save the Hippos, what are the different ways ?

Adopting a hippo for a year or more. This income is the main “bread and butter” to run the Turgwe Hippo Trust. Helping to pay the game scouts their monthly salary as well as Silas, Karen Paolillo’s assistant.